A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis story.

[RosaMoline]

I am really looking forward to this. This particular case (and miscarriage of justice IMO) has long since been a personal obsession of mine.
If Ruth had committed this crime in recent times, she wouldn’t even have had a custodial sentence (thankfully CP long abolished) - David Blakely was extremely mentally, verbally and physically abusive towards Ruth. He apparently caused her to miscarry just weeks before the incident. So it’s beyond question the balance of her mind was affected.
In the few post production photos I’ve seen, it looks gorgeous & I am sure Lucy Boynton will do Ruth justice. Perfect casting.
No date yet, but I was hoping it might be in the Easter TV schedules? Especially as Ruth shot David on Easter Sunday, so the the timing would be very apt:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28496144/

It is indicative of the other factors that affected this case. Such as class and sex. It's unlikely Lady Ellis would have hanged. Or had Blakely somehow been able to kill her, it's unlikely he would have hanged.

As a committed abolitionist, this case annoys me. Obviously (like all and any cases of murder) there is a tragedy wrapped up inside another tragedy. However none of that makes it the trumpeted miscarriage of justice that people think it is. And people who have actually read Pierrepoints book, rather than the dust cover, will know that one of his supposed grumbles about the death penalty was that glamourous cases like Ruth Ellis attracted the press whilst equally tragic cases were ignored because the defendant didn't have Ruths front page appeal.

I'm no lawyer. But I can't see how Cussons giving a gun (presumably with ammunition) to Ellis could be anything other than the act of an accessory. you can bet your life that had he been a teddy boy who gave his mate a gun that was used to kill someone, he'd have probably found himself facing a similar fate to Derek Bentley. However luckily he was "the right sort", so that was all OK.

Class played a big part for sure

A lot of people were shocked at the time that she was put to death. But I think today we are looking at it through a 21st century lens after the death penalty has been abolished for 60 odd years, when there is more awareness about mental health and domestic abuse, coercive control etc. Obviously there have been many worse crimes since RE that didn't get the death penalty as it had been abolished, so if we compare her to say, the Moore murders, the Wests, Levi Bellfield etc it's shocking she got a harsher sentence in comparison.

At the time she did shoot someone in a public place and in court had little remorse about it. Maybe today it would come under diminished responsibility but at the time? Remember how other things were different for women too in those days - it was legal to rape your wife, abortion was illegal, women could be sacked for getting married or pregnant, unmarried mothers were shunned etc. I'm not surprised the law did little to look at the 'bigger picture' when that was the societal backdrop.

A lot of people were shocked at the time that she was put to death.

If you live in a country that has the death penalty, then being brutally honest, you don't get to be "shocked" when people get put to death. What you do get is the tiniest weeniest little bit of complicity in that process.

Something the supposed execution enthusiasts of MN would do well to bear in mind.

David Blakely was a gaslighting narcissistic psycho. What's probably lesser known is that his father was a GP who cheated with a waitress half his age, got her pregnant, gave her something to bring about an abortion and she died. John Blakely got away with it. No wonder David turned out the way he did.

I’m not sure why it is particularly shocking that the jury was only out for 14 minutes. She admitted very clearly that she intended to kill DB and there was no doubt that she pulled the trigger. She was absolutely guilty of murder. And unfortunately there was only one sentence available to the judge at the time.

Looking back now, it’s an appalling case. She would probably get diminished responsibility now and the DA would certainly have been taken into account. It is appalling that we executed people at all, and in particular RE because of her vulnerability. But her case exemplifies why capital punishment is unjustifiable, IMO; it is not one where the sentence was misapplied according to the law as it stood at the time (for example as happened to Derek Bentley). It is still tragic.

Ruth was a victim of all the prejudices that existed at the time; she enjoyed working when many women were expected to be housewives. I read some advice from the 50s advising women to ‘apply fresh lipstick, take off your pinny (!) and ask about his day’ when husband arrives home!!!
Ruth wasn’t the best mother; she loved her children but didn’t have much idea about child care.
There were mitigating circumstances, I really believe that (and studied this case over a few years too)
A victim of child sexual abuse, as was her sister who gave birth to a child by her father. Multiple house moves instigated by her father’s frequent job changes- all very unsettling.
Deceived and abandoned by Andre’s father.
Victim of domestic violence twice- George Ellis was also very violent to Ruth.
She miscarried a baby as a result of Blakely’s violence. She’d been drinking all day on the day of the murder. I do believe she was ‘assisted’ by Cussen who could have attempted to calm her but I suspect he may have wound her up: ? punishment
He disliked Blakely intensely
Agree that Ruth’s voice cultivated - it was what my mum called ‘affected’ It was part of Ruth’s role as hostess to entertain and converse with the generally well to do clientele. RP was everywhere; Pathe news, BBC.
The speed of the trial, sentence and hanging surprised me too; but so much of the whole tragic tale is that Ruth was also a victim of morality,and perhaps misogyny.
Today, a similar crime might be judged as diminished responsibility. I’d hope so

I have sympathy with all of Ruth's story. Except for the way she parented her poor, neglected children. She was far more interested in gaining male attention and affection, likely because of past trauma.

There's a documentary on BBC iPlayer - The Ruth Ellis Files. Ep2 on tomorrow, BBC4.

One thing I didn't understand from the series is how Ruth pergered herself and her solicitor. It was mentioned just after she was in the dock and again when she met her solicitor when she was in jail. What happened?

She lied about how she got the gun.

I watched the last one tonight and it was heartbreaking. Rip Ruth.

The last episode made me furious. I was so angry that the state allowed this to happen to a young and vulnerable woman.

Bickford et al were just a load of chocolate fireguards

Me too. So sad and infuriating at the same time. She was so composed. What an utter coward Cussons was.

I would love a posthumous pardon for Ruth in my lifetime.
I know some posters here will argue against it, but in my opinion, this WAS a miscarriage of justice insofar that extenuating circumstances were not taken into account (the abuse, the recent miscarriage and so on)
I’m planning to be in Hampstead again on Saturday, so will pop into The Magdala & raise a glass in her memory.
For other posters interested in miscarriages of justice relating to women, please Google Edith Thompson and Anna Antonio.

I don't agree with you OP. I live near The Magdala, the one time we wanted to go recently, it was closed for filming this series! There are other pubs closer so I haven't been back. I've got one more episode to watch but I found the series boring, sorry!

That last episode when her family came to visit and were telling her she could be released and that her and Andre should leave London was so sad because you could see the hope growing.

When she said to her first solicitor that when she had no hope of a reprieve she had accepted the sentence, but the hope that had been given to her actually made things worse was heartbreaking.

That final moment when Pierrepoint came in my heart was thumping. I'm massively anti-capital punishment (whether the party is guilty is not) and I find anything with it in difficult to watch (I couldn't even watch the Wolf Hall episode recently where Thomas Cromwell was executed). I think it's absolutely abhorrent that humans can devise ways to kill others so systematically. It makes me feel physically sick.

I'd like to visit the Magdalena next time I'm in London.

@Hawkerslife - I went a few months ago. I live quite close to London, so it’s easy for me - I posted upthread about my visit, if you’d care to check it out ♥️
@Davros - why did you find it ‘boring’ - and filming wrapped ages ago, so the pub is up and running. I went in October.

Also @Hawkerslife - the two British cases I’m most invested in, Ruth’s and Edith Thompson’s - I’ve often wondered what it must be like to know that it’s your last day on earth, when you wake up that day (if you’ve managed to sleep at all)
I’ve tried to imagine it many times from Edith’s and Ruth’s cell in Holloway..to know that it would be the last sunrise you’d ever see…just heartbreaking 💔

Yes, when the prison governor went to tell Ruth that there would be no reprieve and the governor asked Ruth if she wanted to stay up and have some Brandy and Ruth said she'd rather get some sleep I couldn't begin to imagine how I'd feel. Ruth herself said 'only 7hrs' because it was 2am. I'd honestly probably be hysterical. How Ruth was able to eat breakfast and take a bath that morning ill never know.

The constant shots to the clock that morning and just knowing that in x amount of time you'd be dead. 💔

And when Pierrepoint came in and said 'I won't hurt you dear' or words to that effect...the cruel irony.

and used his "special" leather strap. Note the detail about the hoax phone call.

https://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/ruth.html

Apparently Ruth was very, very brave. She did break down in tears a few days before when she realised it was hopeless. But on the day itself she was very calm - even Pierrepoint commented on it in his memoirs.
Early on, she seemed determined to die, and wanted to ‘join David’ but I think she must’ve been in shock, and the enormity hadn’t hit her at that point.

@RosaMoline I know the Magdala is open again and has been for a long time, I live just round the corner. It's just that locals don't see it as the "Ruth Ellis pub". I assume you visit purely because of the connection which I find odd.
I know the story very well and I found the TV programme didn't bring anything fresh, it just felt like an opportunity to get a new audience for an old story and reiterate that things would be different now which doesn't change anything. I admit I haven't seen the last episode yet though.

I just read this and saw that she had to wear special canvas pants which were introduced following Edith's execution.

Just putting them on that morning, knowing why, would have been absolutely horrific and torturous in itself.

Well, it isn’t ’odd’ to me & I resent your insinuation. I have been there as I have a vested interest in the case, and wanted to honour her memory. I also want to visit her unmarked grave to lay flowers. I think it’s rather touching that people remember Ruth 70 years later, and want to pay their respects. I like visiting cemeteries too, and there’s nothing ‘odd’ about that either.